Cyberbullying is Deadly
by OutsidersSlashLover
Summary: An Outsiders AU where Ponyboy gets cyberbullied. Yes, this is based on the movie Cyberbully. Rate and Review, Fave and Follow, This is going to be a non-slash chapter story. TW: Suicide attempt, cyberbullying
1. Chapter 1

The laptop that had been set on the kitchen table beeped, indicating that a message had been sent. The 14-year-old boy stuffed the muffin, which he had grabbed off the kitchen counter, into his mouth as he read the message that had been sent to him by his 16-year-old friend.

'What shirt are you gonna wear today?' It read. He quickly typed back a reply 'The green tee-shirt' and hit the 'enter' button, the message displaying in the box with all the other messages.

The laptop beeped again as he was tying his shoes.

'Ew, didn't you wear that yesterday? It's gotta be dirty by now.' He typed back another reply 'Shut up!' and hit enter. He heard his bedroom door open and looked over.

Mackenzie Jones, his oldest brother Darry's 5-months-pregnant fiancé, stood in the doorway. She smiled at him.

"Gettin' ready for school there, Pone?" The boy, whose full name was Ponyboy Michael Curtis, nodded in response. "Well, hurry up, the bus is about to leave in a few minutes."

"Alright, I'll be down there in a few." Pony responded as he zipped open his backpack and stuffed his homework into it. Then, slinging his backpack over his shoulder, he closed out of the chatroom that he and his friend were in, shut his laptop closed, and was out the door.

"Class dismissed. Oh, wait, before I forget, Ponyboy, can you stay after class for a few minutes?" The History teacher, Mr. Morgan, said as the bell rang for the next class. A group of girls, known commonly around school as the 'Pop Girls' (short for "popular girls,") giggled as they walked out, occasionally glancing back at Pony and smirking nastily as if they knew what he was in for. Johnny Cade, Pony's best friend, glanced over at him.

"Don't worry 'bout 'em, Pony. They're just… well, mean." He reassured, standing up and grabbing his backpack as he walked out of the classroom with their friends Two-Bit, Steve and Dally.

"Well, it sucks that I have almost all my classes with 'em…" Pony muttered to himself. He grabbed his backpack and walked over to the teacher's desk.

"Yes, Mr. Morgan?" He asked nervously. Mr. Morgan looked sternly up at Pony, handing his History test from last Friday back to him. There was a 68% scrawled on the top.

"That's a very low score, Ponyboy."

"I know, I know…" Ponyboy said, getting a better look at the paper. He had studied the whole night before but sometimes got a little distracted. The day of the test, he could barely keep his eyes open, he was up so late reviewing.

"Ponyboy, what's been goin' on with you lately?" Mr. Morgan asked, sitting down in his desk. Ponyboy played with his paperweight, his eyes fixated on the thing. He knew he hadn't been doing well. The slip he handed to Darry earlier this week made it quite obvious.

"Is it about your parents?"

Pony teared up, his mind flooding with memories of his father and mother, Darrel and Evelynn Curtis. He nodded.

Mr. Morgan looked down at the paper and sighed. He knew what it was like; losing someone you loved like that.

"How's about I let you retake the test, champ?" He asked, looking up at the boy. Ponyboy shook his head. He hated people giving him special treatment.

"Okay…" He sighed. He knew the boy liked to write. He saw him with his journal every day in class. He'd nervously shut it when Mr. Morgan approached his desk to look over his shoulder at his work.

"…How about you write me a story? Anything you'd like. It can be fiction, non-fiction, sci-fi… just have fun with it and make it real entertainin'."

Mr. Morgan saw the boy turn his head to the left. He was considering, he was about to refuse.

"I…" Ponyboy started.

"Think of it as extra credit, Pony! A teacher is concerned about one of his top students." Mr. Morgan said. "That's not considered charity."

Pony smiled and nodded.

"Thanks, Mr. Morgan." He said, walking out the door. The hallway was bustling with students talking, but one voice made the others sound like almost nothing.

"Hey, look, girls, it's the teacher's pet." Pony slowly turned around. Chloe Kingsley, one of the Pop Girls, smirked, her posse behind her as always. Ponyboy's smile turned into a frown almost immediately. He swung his bookbag over his shoulder and took off down the hallway at top speed.

He felt someone yank at his backpack, and he stumbled back onto his butt. The whole crowd of students seemed to laugh at him.

Dallas took a step forward, his bookbag falling to the ground. He was about to wring some necks.

"Dally." Two-Bit interjected, holding an arm in front of the boy to keep him from proceeding further.

Johnny offered Ponyboy a hand. Ponyboy stood on his own and gave a small, reassuring smile to his friends.

"I'm okay."

"Hey, Ponyboy, can't you even run correctly?" Chloe laughed.

"Fuck off." Steve growled, grabbing Ponyboy by his arm and pushing him down the hall to his next class.

Pony ignored the sneering faces of the Pops as he tried concentrating on the movie that was on in his English class. He felt someone flick his hair, and his teeth grit in anger. He couldn't take it anymore.

"What is your problem, huh? Did you not get any last night or somethin'?" He sneered at the girls sitting behind him.

"What, are you on your period or are you just plain bored? Do you not have anythin' better to do, anythin' at all?" He asked. The whole classroom went silent and everyone turned to him. He knew the period bit was a little over the top and offensive, but he was too mad to care.

"Mm… nope." The brunette, Madison, sneered evilly. She, Chloe, and the redhaired girl Olivia, just some of the Pops, laughed.

Ponyboy rolled his eyes and directed his attention back to the front of the room.

"Dumb bitches." The girl sitting next to Ponyboy said. She nudged him, smiling a little.

"Just ignore 'em."

"I bet you couldn't say that to our faces!" Chloe said, picking at her cuticles, overhearing what the girl said under her breath.

The girl turned around and looked Chloe straight in the eye, her courage not wavering for a second.

"Dumb." She started, looking at Chloe and Madison.

"Bitches." She looked directly at Olivia and smiled smugly, turning back around.

"I'm Madeline, but most people call me Maddie." She smiled kindly at Pony, extending a hand for him to shake.

"I know… we've been sittin' next to each other since school began…" Ponyboy said, looking down at his book and blushing.

"You're, uh… Horseboy, correct?"

"Ponyboy."

"Oh, like a baby horse."

"That would be a filly."

Maddie gave him a lopsided grin and tapped her pen against her desk.

"I'm sorry. I'm not too… bright."

"It's okay." Pony smiled. "I understand."

Maddie smiled fully and turned back to the movie, which was almost over. Ponyboy knew about the movie from beginning to end, so the test would be easy.


	2. Chapter 2

Ponyboy was at his locker. Afternoon homeroom had ended and he rushed to the lockers to avoid Chloe and Madison, who were in his homeroom.

Unfortunately, he couldn't avoid Olivia… whose locker was right next to his.

He shoved his books in his bag and reached out to grab his coat, hung neatly on its hook, when the door snapped closed. Ponyboy's eyes wandered further down the yellow-painted thing and saw five perfectly manicured nails spread across the center of it.

"You think you're so big and bad now, huh, horsekid?"

Pony gulped down the lump in his throat. They were girls, so why was he so afraid of them?

"It's Ponyboy." He snapped, finally finding his voice. He'd fight back. He didn't want to look like a sissy for having girls push him around.

"Move your hand or when you pull it back all you'll have is a bloody stump." He threatened in a low voice, like his brother used when he wouldn't listen. Olivia smirked and peeled her hand off the locker. He put in his combo and pulled the door open, right in front of her face, shielding it from him as he shoved his arms through the sleeves of his sweater.

"Just because your brother used to play football and is all big and muscular now doesn't mean you have to act like him." Olivia snapped.

"I have more than one brother." Pony shot back.

"Oh, yeah, that hottie who works down at the DX? How can he stand to come home to you?"

Ponyboy's heart dropped to that. It made him wonder. How could Sodapop stand to come home to him?

"Go away." He said, shutting the locker. He slung the backpack over his shoulder and started to walk towards his group of friends. They'd protect him.

"But Ponyboy, they're just girls. Might I add you're at least a good six inches taller than each of them. How come you're so scared, man?" Johnny pressed on the way home. Ponyboy shook his head and shoved his hands in his pockets. His friends don't understand. They never will.

"Just drop it, Johnny." He spat through his gritted teeth. They've all taken turns drilling him the whole way home. He didn't expect Johnny to start in on him, too, as he was silent the whole way home up until that moment. It didn't matter how tall he was compared to their petite frames. Their words cut at Ponyboy like knives and tore at him. They ripped him, brought him down to their size, if not smaller. They stood over him and whispered snide comments that made him want to crawl into a hole as they echoed through his mind.

"Pony, I'm just sayin'. You shouldn't be scared of 'em. They're girls, for God's sake! If anythin', they should be scared o' you, not the other way around!"

"You wouldn't understand, and you never will understand!" Pony snapped angrily.

Johnny stopped in the road and threw his hands up in frustration.

"I'm tryin' to understand, Pony! Can't you see that?" He asked. Ponyboy shook his head and stared back at his best friend.

"I couldn't hear your concern over the bullshit spewin' from that foul-talkin' hole you dare call a mouth!"

Johnny's eyes went wide and his mouth pressed into a tight line.

Pony groaned in frustration as he walked faster towards his home.

Mackenzie was home fixing dinner as Ponyboy walked in and stormed off to his room.

Johnny, on the other side of the story, had stormed off down the road to his house without a word more. He was fuming.

He logged onto "Prattlr," a new social networking site that had just started going big the previous month, and checked his messages. Two from Dally, one from Two-Bit, one from Soda, and three from Steve. He scrolled through them and shut his laptop, running his fingers through his hair. He knew he'd have something smart to say if he replied just then and he'd surely regret it in the future.

Then, out of sheer anger, he reopened his laptop and signed off of Prattlr, making a new account, but this one wasn't for him, oh no…

"Alexander… Gonzalez…" He said to himself as he typed in the first name and last name for his new, secret alter ego.

"Ponyboy, dinner's ready." Mackenzie said, watching as Pony played a game on his laptop. Ponyboy took a minute to pause it and got up. He took the stack of plates from Mackenzie's hands and started to set the table, Sodapop trailing him with a handful of utensils. Once the table was set and everyone sat down, they said grace and dug in a short while after.

"How was school, Pony?" Darry asked, looking up from his plate of food. Ponyboy was pushing his serving around on the plate with a fork. He thought. How was school?

Horrible.

"School was okay." He concluded. Darry cocked an eyebrow, but said nothing else.

"So how'd you do on that history test?" Soda asked before taking a swig of chocolate milk right from the jug.

"Sodapop Curtis, pour that into a cup!" Mackenzie ordered.

Ponyboy shrugged and dropped his fork. "Can I be excused?" He asked, about to stand up and clear off his plate. Sodapop and Mackenzie looked to Darry. Darry nodded and Pony smiled a bit, going to the sink to quickly wash off his plate. Once his plate was cleared and back in the cabinet where it started out, Ponyboy retired back to his room, door shut, laid back in his bed.

He soon heard the phone ringing. The caller ID read 'Johnny'. He made no move to answer it and just stared at the name on the bright screen. He was real hard on Johnny this afternoon, he just realized. He felt like the worst friend ever for hurting Johnny's feelings. He was doing exactly what Olivia and the rest of the girls did to him that made him so upset.

He pressed the green button and pressed the phone to his ear.

'Hi."

"Hey, man, did you ever hear 'bout that new social networkin' site that just started last month?"

"…No…"

"Do you think Darry'll let you sign up?"

"Man, I'd sign up even if Darry didn't allow me to. What's it called?" He asked, pulling his laptop close to him and starting it up.

"Prattlr." Ponyboy's face contorted to confusion.

"The hell? Is this some kind o' joke?"

"No, Pony, I ain't kiddin'!"

Ponyboy chuckled a little and shook his head.

"The name was kinda funny, is all."

He typed in the address and was sent to a sign-up page. The logo was in blue and the rest of the screen was black with white text.

"Hey. Johnny?"

There was a moment of silence and some rustling as Johnny rolled over in bed.

"Yeah?"

"I'm awful sorry about what I said, man. I didn't mean it."

"It's okay." Johnny said. He was too busy typing away on his other fake account. Ponyboy could hear his fingers working against the keyboard on the other line.

"Alright, I'm gonna make the account and I'll get back to ya, alright?"

"Alright. See ya at school. Bye."

"Bye."

Pony hung up the phone and started to make the Prattlr account.


	3. Chapter 3

Pony packed his backpack with his books and homework, then logged onto Prattlr to see if he had any friend requests, messages or wall posts.

None. He shrugged it off, thinking that he couldn't get that popular in a day, so what did it matter?

He was about to shut the laptop closed when a hand pushed it open again. Pony turned around to see Sodapop.

"What's this?" He asked, bending down behind Ponyboy to get a better look.

"Listen, you can't tell Darry 'bout this, ya got it?" Pony said nervously.

"Why not?"

"Well, because he doesn't like us on social networkin' sites."

"Well, why the hell are you on one then?"

"Johnny told me 'bout it an' I thought it'd be cool to create an account."

Soda sighed. "Just be careful on there, 'kay? And don't do anythin' stupid or else I'mma tell Darry."

Ponyboy nodded his head vigorously and smiled up at his older brother.

"Now, show me what you were gonna do." Sodapop said, sitting down on the edge of Ponyboy's bed and peering over his shoulder into the webpage he had open.

"Whaddaya mean?" Pony asked.

"Show me what you do on the website. Maybe I'll make an account too." He said, smiling.

"Well, I'm assumin' you just message people and post on yours or some other person's wall."

Sodapop nodded and watched as his brother put in his information.

"And there ya go. I gotta get to school now. Don't log into my stuff!" Pony called, walking out the door.

As soon as he entered History class, the students were all glaring at him. Even Mr. Morgan was giving him a nasty look.

He looked around the room before averting his eyes to the floor. He took a seat in the back of the class. He was so confused. He tried his best not to look up and around the classroom, because surely every time he did, there was someone glaring back at him. Mr. Morgan even gave him a choice pair of his angry eyes.

The bell rang and Ponyboy was the first out of the classroom. It was a miracle nobody pushed their legs out of the walkways to trip him, but judging by the look on his peer's faces, some were considering doing so.

It wasn't until he got to his locker and saw one of the Pops, Chloe, in a wheelchair with a cast around her leg, that he knew why they were so mad at him. Ponyboy looked her over a minute and turned back to his locker, getting out his books and hoping not to be seen. He shut the locker door and sighed.

When he looked over at Chloe, she and the people surrounding her were glaring directly at him. Ponyboy took a deep breath, taken aback a little, and looked away. He saw Johnny walking up to him, who had a look of disbelief on his face.

"Johnny, what the hell is goin' on?" He asked once the older boy reached him.

"Look what you did to me, horse-boy!" Chloe snapped.

"I didn't do nothin' to ya!"

"Ponyboy Curtis, can I see you in my office?" Principal Wilkes addressed.

Ponyboy gave Johnny a grave look, and sighed, starting off to the principal's office.

Johnny gave the girls a look before shoving his hands in his pockets and walking off to his next class.

"I expected better of you, Ponyboy."

"Principal Wilkes, I swear I didn't do nothin'! It wasn't me, I swear…" Pony pleaded. Principal Wilkes held up his hand, silencing Ponyboy. He gestured towards a chair and Ponyboy took his seat.

After a few moments of silence, Ponyboy, with his heart racing, started up to defend himself.

"I didn't do-!"

"Silence!" Principal Wilkes barked, his booming voice echoing off the walls of the small office. Ponyboy shrunk back. Principal Wilkes was always nice to him, sometimes even complimented him after sitting in for a swim meet. He was always so friendly and soft-spoken. But his whole demeanor changed now. His mouth pressed into a tight line and a few wrinkles lining his forehead, Ponyboy could say he was intimidated by the same man that offered him a wave while passing by him in the hallways.

"What am I going to do with you now? Detention isn't a severe punishment, not enough for hurting a student."

"But Principal Wilkes, I never touched Chloe! I don't even know what happened to her!" Ponyboy pleaded.

"Then how come she and her friends came to me saying that you had pushed her off the bleachers the other day?"

"She and her friends don't like me, so they're probably thinkin' o' ways to get me punished."

Principal Wilkes thought for a moment. That would make sense. But, if he didn't carry out some type of punishment, Chloe's parents, who just so happened to be on the school board, will be on his ass.

"Alright. You have detention for 5 whole weeks, and I will be contacting your older brother about this."

Ponyboy gave his principal a look of disbelief and buried his face in his hands. He would be stuck in an empty classroom for an hour after school every day for a month, for something he didn't even do!

Ponyboy came home to a very furious Darry. Mackenzie tried everything she could to calm him down as he stalked towards his younger brother angrily. Ponyboy flinched back as Darry came closer. He felt Darry would hit him.

"Care to explain to me what you did to that girl, Ponyboy Michael Curtis?" Darry fumed. Ponyboy knew he was in deep shit when his oldest brother called him by his full name.

"Nothing. I didn't touch 'er." He said, trying to stand tall even though his voice was shaking just like his legs.

"Then why was the principal sayin' you pushed her down the bleachers an' broke her leg, hmm?" Darry asked, even more angry about the fact that his little brother was "lying to him".

"Because the principal doesn't want her rich, powerful parents up his ass!"

"'Ey!" Darry barked. "You watch your mouth!"

"You don't fuckin' believe me, huh? No one believes me! I'm always gettin' blamed for shit that had nothin' to do with me!" Ponyboy yelled, storming off to his room and slamming the door shut.

Darry sighed, running a hand through his hair as a few clumps of it fell to the ground. Mackenzie made a noise at the back of her throat as the thick tufts of hair fell to the carpet mass by mass.

"What, baby?" Darry asked, concern in his voice.

"Your… uh…" She said, gesturing to her head and then to the carpet. Darry looked down and saw the hair.

"Oh, sorry.." He apologized and went to get the vacuum cleaner. Mackenzie sighed.

"I'm gonna go talk to Pony.. he probably needs somebody to talk to right now to calm him down." She said as Darry plugged in the vacuum. He nodded and she walked into Ponyboy's bedroom.

She knocked and slowly opened the door.

"Pony?"

"Ever heard o' knockin'?"

"I knocked, baby." She said softly, shutting the door behind her and sitting on his bed. He was on the computer, typing away.

"Whaddaya want?" He snapped, not looking up from the laptop.

"I want you to shut that off and look at me." She said softly.

Pony sighed in frustration. "If Darry's comin' in here with ya, I ain't listenin'."

"He's not coming in here. Now you shut that damn laptop off and listen to me, young man!" Mackenzie snapped fiercely. Pony had never heard her snap at anybody like that, especially not him.

"What?" Ponyboy deadpanned after shutting it and spinning around to face her. Mackenzie's eyebrows quirked in anger. If Ponyboy didn't fix his act, he'd be in deep shit.

Ponyboy sighed. "Yes?"

"That's better. Now tell me what happened to this Chloe girl."

"What's the use? You'll never believe me. Nobody believes me." He said, looking down at his lap.

"Pony, honey, I wanna help you, but you seem to push away everyone who tries to help you."

"I don't need help, okay?! This is between me and the Pops, not anyone else! Now leave me alone!" Pony got up, about to walk out of the bedroom.

"See?! That right there is my fucking point!"

"What?" He asked, shutting the door again. He was genuinely curious as to what her point was.

"You say you don't need help, but Ponyboy, I can see in your eyes that you do. You just don't know how to ask for it." Mackenzie went calm again. That was one thing about her: each time she was angry, she would calm herself down in a matter of seconds, no matter the situation. Ponyboy stayed quiet and thought about it. Then, he took a seat next to Mackenzie. He did want help.

"So tell me when it all started."

"Well, it was 'bout a few months ago, before you and Darry started seein' each other. Chloe and the rest o' the girls had never bothered me before, but one day, they jus' started teasin' me cuz I had tripped durin' one o' my track runs. Then it escalated."

"How?" Mackenzie asked, her blood boiling. She was fiercely protective of the Curtis brothers and their friends. Anyone that messed with them, and hell would surely be raised.

"I… It's nothing." Ponyboy said, shaking his head. He's said too much and by the looks of it, Mackenzie's set on her voice being heard already. How does it look having your older brother's girlfriend defending you against a pack of girls? Especially your older brother's pregnant girlfriend?

"Alright.." Mackenzie said, once again calmed down. She went over and kissed Pony's forehead, and she was out the door.

Ponyboy sighed and lay down on his bed, opening up his laptop. He logged onto Prattlr and found two posts in his message box, both from anonymous people.

'Watch your back.'

'You better be prepared for tomorrow.'

Ponyboy shrugged it off, though deep inside he was afraid, and deleted them from his inbox.


	4. Chapter 4

"What's that?" Darry asked. He was just passing by the doorframe when he saw his brother scrolling through his 'dock'.

Ponyboy closed the laptop and turned around.

"It's nothin'." He promised.

"Don't you lie to me, Ponyboy. What was that?" Darry pressed.

"It's nothin', Dar. I swear it." He defended himself though his heart was racing. Why it was such a big deal about Darry finding out was beyond him, but it still got the blood rushing through him.

"Pony, what was that site that you were on? I hate it when you lie to me, but I 'specially hate it when it's somethin' on the internet." Darry's eyes widened as his mind hatched an idea. "Are you watchin' porn on there, young man?!" He screamed.

Ponyboy shook his head fervently, his palms pressed down on his closed laptop as if the truth would reveal itself. "N-No!" He cried.

"Good, cuz I was just 'bout to die of a heart attack an' then kill ya." Darry joked. "Just…" He sighed, knowing that he couldn't keep his brother away from what dangers lay on the World Wide Web forever. "Be careful, okay?"

Pony just nodded.

"I love you. Lights out soon." He reminded. "Now would be a good time to hop in the shower…" Darry suggested. Ponyboy took the longest so he'd have just enough time to sneak a look at what his baby brother was doing.

"I'll let Soda go first." He said, turning back to his desk.

"Pony…" Darry said in a warning tone. Pony sighed, closed his laptop and went to go take a shower. Darry waited until he was out of the room and flipped open his baby brother's laptop. He looked at the webpage.

_Prattlr__?_ He thought to himself, scrolling through it. It didn't look harmful… well, not until he saw an answered message about telling somebody to 'go die'. The answer was 'alright…'

He looked closer at the boy's icon. It was Ponyboy's school picture! Someone was telling his baby brother to go die.

And what upset him the most was that Ponyboy said 'alright', like he was actually considering doing it.

Darry slammed the laptop shut in rage and got up, pacing the room. He ran his fingers through his hair. He was so pissed. He didn't know whether to yell at Ponyboy first or pull him into a big, bear hug.

Pony got out of the shower a few minutes later. He opened the door and found Darry standing there.

"Darry?" Ponyboy asked, tightening his towel around his waist.

"What is this, Ponyboy?" Darry asked, pulling his laptop open.

Pony inspected the laptop closer. "What's what?" He asked.

"Prattlr! And who the hell is tellin' you to go die?!" He asked, opening up the question on Ponyboy's profile. Ponyboy pulled his lip between his teeth.

"Ponyboy Michael Curtis, you better answer me!"

"Darry, I-"

"Is it someone in school?"

"No-"

"Don't you lie to me! Do you know who it is?"

"D-"

"Is it someone from school? I swear to God, I'm gonna come up there with my old bat and I swear I'm gonna-"

"Darry!" Ponyboy shouted. He sat on his bed and sighed, clutching at the hem of his towel.

"I-I don't know who it is."

"What the hell d'ya mean you don't know who it is?!" Darry shouted.

"It's anonymous! Meanin' no one knows who the person is!" Pony shouted back, sounding close to tears.

"Well, there's gotta be somethin' we can do to hunt down this son of a-"

"Darry! Cut it out!" Ponyboy cried out. He was sick and tired of everyone throwing a fit. He'd deal with it himself. He was a big boy. He didn't need someone to defend him against a pack of girls.

"Don't you talk back to me!" Darry yelled. Soon, they heard a scream. It sounded like Mackenzie.

Darry was the first out of the room.

"Baby?" He called, in a bit of a panic. Mackenzie was kneeling on the floor, clutching her stomach. Beneath her, a puddle of blood formed.

Darry didn't know what to do. She was sobbing. The minute he tried grabbing her and helping her up, she hissed in pain and tore her arm away.

"Baby, what's the matter? Is it the baby? We gotta get ya off the floor, darlin'!" He was rambling frantically. Mackenzie fought him.

"Please, Darry! I can't get up." She cried as he tried again to help her to her feet.

"Why not?"

"It hurts too much!"

"Ponyboy, call an ambulance!" Darry screamed. Pony obeyed him and grabbed the phone, dialing 911.

"It's okay, Ms. Jones, you're going to be alright. The baby's coming, though, so we need to get you to a hospital quickly." The EMT said, putting Mackenzie on a stretcher and loading her into the back of the ambulance.

Darry and his brothers followed after the ambulance, Darry worried sick, Sodapop scared, and Ponyboy anxious. Darry, Sodapop and Ponyboy sat in the waiting room for a half hour, Sodapop slumped against a seat, attempting to get at least a little shut-eye, Ponyboy next to him, biting his nails down to the quick, and Darry pacing the floors.

Soon, the wailing of a baby was heard in the next room. Darry's eyes went wide and his heart skipped a beat as the doctor that helped wheel Mackenzie away emerged from that very room.

"You guys can come in now." Darry nodded and walked into the room, smiling as he saw Mackenzie. He rushed over and sat on the edge of her bed, in front of her. She had something tiny wrapped in a blanket and her eyes were wet with tears.

"What's wrong, babe?" Darry asked nervously.

"It's all my fault." She said, peering down at the tiny infant in her arms.

"What is?" Darry questioned.

"She can't breathe well, Dar. Just look." She said, holding the baby up for them to see. Her eyes were shut tight and her chest was rising and falling quickly, her breaths ragged and shaky. "They'll have to take her soon, but I just wanted a minute…"

"Oh, well, she'll be alright… I promise… she's gonna be strong if she's anythin' like her daddy." Darry chuckled.

Mackenzie nodded, wiping a tear from her face as she handed the nurse their baby. The nurse smiled at Mackenzie apologetically and wheeled the baby out of the room. Mackenzie shrunk back in her seat, out of fear and exhaustion.

"What if it isn't okay, Darry? What if she isn't okay?" She asked frantically, smoothing down her bed sheets to busy herself.

Darry shook his head and placed his large hand on top of her small one.

"You're shakin', darlin'." He said, his eyes holding concern as he looked up into hers.

"It's all my fault…" Mackenzie muttered sadly.

Darry shook his head and pressed his forehead against hers.

"Mackenzie, this is not your fault."

"Then whose fault is it?" Mackenzie asked softly, tears streaming down her face.

Before Darry could answer, the door opened and a nurse wheeled in a little incubator.

Ponyboy and Sodapop's faces pressed against it once it was right next to her bed. The nurse reminded them they had to be careful and they apologized before taking a giant step back in the fear of already harming their tiny niece.

"She's beautiful, isn't she, boys?" Mackenzie whispered. Pony and Soda nodded, smiling.

"She's breathtakin', just like her mom." Darry said, wrapping his strong arms around Mackenzie and kissing her temple. Pony brought his laptop, which he had grabbed accidentally, out of a bag and opened it up.

"Pony, put that away." Darry scolded, still seething about what he saw on his younger brother's laptop. He was seriously considering taking it away.

"I'm bored, though…"

"Darry, c'mon, babe, let him use it for a while." Mackenzie said. Darry rolled his eyes and sat back, arms crossed in defeat. Sodapop grinned at his brother as he loaded up the Prattlr webpage.

Pony turned his body so his brother couldn't see. A little '1' showed up on the side of the 'Friend Requests' button. Cocking an eyebrow, he clicked it.

Chloe's name displayed along with the buttons 'Accept' and 'Decline' showed up. Ponyboy's mouse hovered over the 'Decline' button. He bit his lip. Maybe she's changed. Maybe she wants to talk things out.

Pony clicked on the 'Accept' button, thinking that Chloe had changed. Unfortunately, things hadn't. Lies were posted on the girl's page, stating that he had 'tried to kill her'. He didn't know how to react.

He tried to ignore the posts, biting his lip. "Somethin' wrong, Pony?" Soda asked. The 14 year old shook his head, closing his laptop.

"Ya sure?" Mackenzie asked, taking her tiny daughter out of the incubator and holding her close.

"I'm sure." He responded, nodding. He brushed off the negative posts, hoping it wouldn't escalate.


	5. Chapter 5

*CHAPTER 5*

Pony got to school, getting stares as he walked to his locker. He ignored them, taking out his books needed for class. He closed his locker shut, greeted by his friend, Johnny.

Something about Johnny wasn't quite right, though. He seemed a bit upset about something.

"Somethin' wrong, Johnny?" He questioned. "An' don't lie to me and say nothin'."

"Guess who's gettin' beat up by the football team? I am, because someone said I slept with Josh's girlfriend!" Johnny stated, anger in his voice.

"Who?" Pony asked, trying not to laugh.

"You!" He responded angrily. "Thanks a lot! Why'd ya have to spread that rumor? I never did anythin' like that to you!"

"Johnny, I never said you slept with Josh's girl. If I did, don'tcha think they'd be after me?"

"Yes, you did! It was all over Prattlr!"

"I never said that, though!"

"Would ya quit lyin' to me?!"

"I'm not lyin' to ya, Johnny!" The 14-year-old stated. "I swear I didn't say that!"

Johnny just scoffed and walked away quickly.

"Well, well, well. Looks like Horseboy's losing one of his friends." Madison sneered as the other Pops trailed behind her. Ponyboy sighed. He couldn't believe that happened. He regretted joining Prattlr in the first place. Maybe he should've listened to Darry.

Johnny had avoided him in Homeroom, History, Science, and on the way back home. Pony sighed as he threw his bookbag down on the floor in the living room.

"Pony, Mackenzie an' Soda an' I hafta go to work, so d'ya mind babysittin' Katie?" Darry asked as he pulled on his work boots.

"But I have homework." Pony stated as an excuse.

"Please? You can watch 'er while ya do your homework."

He sighed. "Fine."

Katie woke up and started to cry. Pony went to make her a bottle when his laptop beeped, indicating that he had gotten a new chat message.

'What the hell, man? You were supposed to be Johnny's best friend.' The message was from Two-Bit, surprisingly. He thought that it was going to be Dally.

He replied to the message, typing 'I didn't start that rumor!', feeding her the bottle afterwards.

'Man, you're lucky Dallas ain't been told 'bout it yet. He'd slaughter ya.'

'What part of "I didn't start the rumor" did ya not understand?!'

'I'd watch your back if I were you.' Two-Bit warned.

'Dammit, Keith, I didn't start the rumor!'

'Y'know, kid, you're turnin' out t' be a big liar. An' what'd I say 'bout callin' me Keith?!'

'Sorry. An' I'm not lyin'! How many times do I hafta say that?!'

'Prob'ly a lot, or at least 'til you can get us to trust ya again.'

'I would never say that 'bout Johnny! You know that! It was probably Chloe or somethin'!'

'Whatever. We still don't believe you, though.'

Pony sighed, running a hand through his hair. Why won't they believe me? He thought, shutting his laptop.

He hoped he didn't lose the rest of his friends, wishing that none of this happened. He especially didn't want to get beat up by Dally, ultimately. He started to work on his homework again, hearing a beep from his laptop. He opened it up, seeing that he got a new message.

'We destroyed your friendships, now we're gonna destroy you. Brace yourself for next week.'

Ponyboy gulped down the lump in his throat.


End file.
